Indian Army, Assam Rifles rescue 23,000 civilians in violence-hit Manipur; curfew partially relaxed in Churachandpur

Imphal (Manipur) [India], May 7 (ANI): Indian Army and Assam Rifles which were called in to curb violence in Manipur have successfully rescued nearly 23,000 civilians so far and moved them to the operating bases, a statement from the Indian Army said on Sunday.

As per the statement, no major incidents of violence have been reported since the rescue operation began resulting in the relaxation in the curfew hours which are now from 7 am to 10 am today in Churachandpur.
“Ray of hope due to efforts of 120- 125 Army and Assam Rifles columns who are working tirelessly for past 96 hours to rescue civilians across all communities, curb violence and restore normalcy has emerged with no major violence being reported and curfew, therefore being relaxed from 7-10 am today in Churachandpur followed by flag march by Security Forces immediately thereafter,” the Army statement said.

“Total 23000 civilians have been rescued till now and were moved to own operating bases/ military Garrisons,” it added.

Earlier on May 3, owing to tension over the move to protect forests in the face of resistance from illegal immigrants and also the High Court’s direction to include Meitei in scheduled tribes, the district administration imposed a complete curfew in violence-hit Churachandpur in Manipur.

As per the statement, the past 24 hours also witnessed Army significantly enhancing surveillance efforts through aerial surveillance, movement of UAVs and redeployment of Army Helicopters within Imphal Valley.

Manipur Government had requisitioned Army and Assam Rifles on May 3 and 4.

State’s Director General of Police P Doungel has said that the situation in the State has improved after the intervention of security forces.

Forces including RAF, BSF and CRPF have been deployed in Manipur, he said and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) chief Kuldiep Singh, has been appointed as the security advisor.

The State government has also appointed Additional Director-General of Police (Intelligence), Ashutosh Sinha as the overall operational commander to control the situation in Manipur, the State DGP said.

The Army in a statement earlier on Friday said that situation in Manipur had been brought under control through coordinated actions by all stakeholders.

“The situation has been brought under control through coordinated actions by all stakeholders. IAF undertook continuous sorties from two airfields in Assam employing C17 Globemaster and AN 32 aircraft,” Indian Army had stated

Violence had erupted in the immediate aftermath of inter-community clashes in a few districts of the northeastern State amid protests against the inclusion of the majority Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.